Now What?
Deep Purple
Label: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Released: April 30, 2013
Reviewed: April 28, 2013
Now What is the first studio album by the legendary prog rock group, Deep Purple.
It’s been well worth the wait.
Old timer’s like me – as well as “newly minted” prog rock fans will love and appreciate the a pleasant overabundance of talent that this band still exhibits. With flashes of the past as well as new sounds and ideas, Deep Purple proves is underappreciated relevancy.
The randomly chosen three Boomerocity favorites are:
Right out of the chute, A Simple Song, starts out slow and mellow and then explodes into “Hush meets Foxy Lady” lush mixture of sound. This tune is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
The moody, slinky tone of Blood From A Stone is, by far, the Boomerocity favorite, evoking flavors of The Doors with its Riders On The Storm-like keyboards and guitar riffs that remind me of Van Halen’s Best of Both Worlds and, at times, a Bad Company tune – all in a very ingeniously prog sort of way.
Finally, the deliciously complex rocker, Après Vous, was found to be worthy of uncountable slaps of the repeat button, to say the least. This one, too, promises to be a crowd pleaser on Deep Purple’s upcoming tour.
Honorable mention would have to be Vincent Price. I had to read the liner notes twice to make sure producer Bob Ezrin didn’t slip in Alice Cooper for special effect. To that point, if I was interviewing any of the band, I would have to ask: Any plans on having Alice join you on stage with this song?
Obviously, Now What is a must have for Deep Purple fans. However, I also encourage die hard prog fans to snatch this one up (or download, as the case might be).